Chapter 435 (2/2)

“t.i.tle! n.o.bility!” The two of them became excited. They had worked hard to become n.o.bles. Now, they would get t.i.tles on top of that. These were not things they even dared to dream of. The only other merchant to get a n.o.ble t.i.tle was Lu Buwei.

Lu Buwei was a scheming wandering merchant that acc.u.mulated a lot of wealth. When Crown Prince Dao of Wey1 died, King Zhaoxiang named his second son Lord Anguo as Crown Prince. Lord Anguo had a favored concubine, Lady Huayang, who had no sons. Meanwhile, he also had over twenty sons, one of which was Zichu2. Zichu’s mother was Xia Ji and he was not loved very much. He was sent to Zhao as a hostage but even there, he wasn’t treated with much respect because Qin had repeatedly attacked Zhao. As the grandson of the King Zhaoxiang, his life was not plentiful enough at Zhao. Lu Buwei who met this Zichu during one of his business trips to Handan was extremely fond of him. He said that Zichu was a rare piece of merchandise that should be saved for later.

How is Zichu a rare merchandise? By helping Zichu, Lu Buwei eventually became prime minister. He was also the one that sponsored the Lus.h.i.+ Chunqiu so that everyone could read it. There was such a figure that obtained his own t.i.tle. How many Lu Buwei could there be in this world? Most of them are just lowly merchants.

Now, Liu Mang had given them the opportunity to become a government merchant and obtain their own t.i.tles. A genuine way for them to break away from the lowest cla.s.s in society.

“What are the requirements for a government merchant?” Fatty Liang licked his lips and breathed heavily.

“The two of you are wors.h.i.+pping His Highness and is working for the sake of Yangzhou. Aren’t you government merchants already?” Jia Xu smiled in reply.

“Ah!” Wu De and Fatty Liang did not expect happiness to come so suddenly. They never expected to already be government merchants.

“However, you are still not n.o.bles and you do not have t.i.tles. Whether you obtain t.i.tles or not depends on your performance!” Jia Xu said to the two. If he were to satisfy them so easily, they would not have the motivation to work.

“We will definitely not disappoint Milord!” Fatty Liang and Wu De were extremely motivated. People with a desire would have motivation to work. The two merchants showed their motivation after hearing Jia Xu’s words.

The last part of the contract was of the guild. Liu Mang intends for the merchants to set up a chamber of commerce. It is a gathering of large and small merchants. The leader of this chamber of commerce has the right to meet with Liu Mang. They can declare a merchant’s requirement and duty like Liu Mang. They can also defend the rights of other merchants. Naturally, the leader cannot hold onto this position forever. They could only hold onto it for two years and they have to be elected by other merchants.

Liu Mang had raised the position of the merchants and even gave them a chance to be a n.o.ble.

“That’s right. Milord also said that for the merchants that move to Yangzhou, their children can follow and study in school. They would be taught by Confucian teachers. Whether they become merchants or take up official positions would depend on their a.s.sessment.” Jia Xu dropped another bombsh.e.l.l.

Unlike other children, the children of merchants cannot go to school. The schooling inst.i.tutions wouldn’t accept them. However, these children could still receive lessons from private tutors. Unfortunately, no matter how much they studied, they would never be able to become officials. Liu Mang changed this. The children of merchants in Yangzhou would be able to go to school and even get better jobs. When this news spreads out, it wouldn’t just be the merchants in Jingzhou but the merchants all over the world that would jump at this chance.

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This is a different Wei. A smaller Wei that is commonly spelled Wey to differentiate between the two. /wiki/Wey_(state) They use different characters as well. I put it as Wey here but I know for a fact that I probably won’t remember about this if it gets brought up again few chapters later and will put it down as Wei. So I thought I should just inform you all.

Zichu. Also known as Yiren. /wiki/King_Zhuangxiang_of_Qin

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